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Old 01-17-2012, 01:54 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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Default Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89

Tomorrow marks the 23d observence of the death of Charles 'Skeeter" Skelton. I suppose it's silly of me to make this post--I never met the man. Nevertheless he was an influence on my life. After over two decades I still remember the acute sense of loss I felt when I heard of his demise.

I began reading Skelton's work in 1968. Then, as today, most gun writers came across as fifty pounds of hot air in a twenty five pound bag. In contrast Skelton's style was self-deprecating and tongue-in-cheek. A neophyte pistolero, I followed his advice avidly. Fascinated by his long range pistol shooting, I bought an N frame .357 and loaded it with his pet load of the Lyman 358156 gascheck bullet and 13.5 grains of 2400. To this date I've yet to find a better .357 load. When he purchased a Walther PPK/S in .22LR, I followed suit, and found it a dandy kit gun.

Lest readers think me a total syncophant, I had a few disagreements with the man. When I had adjustible sights installed on my Browning HighPower, I specfied a .1 width front sight, Skelton's favorite width. In retropsect I wish I'd gotten a wider front sight blade. And the 4" Model 24 I bought as a homage in the year of his death has never become the favorite I hoped it would. But Skelton got the last laugh. A year ago I purchased a Ruger Bisley flat top in .44 Special--a weapon I know would have delighted Skelton. I am totally enthralled with this pistol--and I think of him whenever I shoot it.

I've managed to outlive Skelton--but if the devil offered to trade my mundane life for Skelton's experiences I'd give it some serious consideration.

I'm neither a religionist nor a theologian. It's my pagan view that our immortality is predicated on the memories we leave. I hope those old enough to remember Skelton join me tomorrow in having a few drinks to his memory--*laff*--the man definitely liked his booze. And I hope that those neophyte pistoleros who happen on this post take the time to read the advice he left for them.

It would be to their advantage.
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Old 01-17-2012, 02:05 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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It has been a long time since I had read anything from Skeeter. That is until recently. Over the Christmas holidays, I had an unexplained resurgence in my interest in his articles. I even tried looking for some of his books that I have wanted for a long time, but they are priced extremely high and currently out of print.

His writing style was always enjoyable.

Chubbs
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Old 01-17-2012, 02:05 AM
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Default Skeeter was a fun read

I almost always enjoyed his stories and the results of his handgun experiences he put down on paper.
Thanks for the reminder.
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Old 01-17-2012, 02:52 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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I think I learned more about handguns from Skeeter than I did from any of the other gunwriters of the day. I subscribed to all the gunzines back then, and he was the lead handgun writer for Shooting Times until illness forced him to retire. I read everything I could find of his, and was delighted when Shooting Times started re-running his stories and articles again a few years ago.

I think the biggest reason I have a couple 44 Specials (and am always on the hunt for more) was because of Skeeter. I never developed his love of single-action revolvers, but I saw it as a major coup when he cajoled S&W into bringing back the Model 24 in the early 80's. I finally managed to pick one up a few years ago, and it immediately became a favorite.

God Bless ya, Skeeter.

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Old 01-17-2012, 05:01 AM
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Skeeter would have been 82 years old today. He was a fine man and one of the few truly knowledgable gunwriters. He got me interested in both the .44 specials and the Colt SAA. He is sorely missed.

Charlie
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Old 01-17-2012, 06:19 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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Skeeter is without a doubt, one of the all time great's. Loved reading his stuff. He is missed.
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Old 01-17-2012, 08:45 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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Skeeter was an old friend, I never met.

He is still missed today.
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Old 01-17-2012, 08:48 AM
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I miss his writing. I am lucky to have both books, his wife's book, most of the special Shooting Times editions like handgun Tales, Skeeter on Handguns etc so I can re-read him when ever I wish.
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Old 01-17-2012, 08:54 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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I forgot to mention. I used to have both "Handgun Tails", and "On Handguns" (I think I remember the titles correctly). My son, who was about 12 years old at the time, literally read them until they fell apart.

On one hand, I wish I had them today. On the other hand, I wouldn't trade the enjoyment HE got reading them, for whatever they'd be worth today.
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Old 01-17-2012, 09:12 AM
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Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles "Skeeter" Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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One article of the many Skelton wrote was (IIRC) was something along the lines of the .38 Special being his "friend." The handload he recommended (8 gr. of Unique w/ a 158-160 gr. LSWC in a .38 Special case) is one I have used for many many years. When I bought a Thunder Ranch 21-4, my decision was in large part driven by the fact that it was a .44 Special. He was one of my favorite writers of that era.

(8 gr. of Unique w/ a 158-160 gr. LSWC in a .38 Special case) To one and all I very much beg your pardon. The load I listed is not from Skelton. It is my own error. The correct load is 5.0 gr. of Unique w/ a 158-160 gr. LSWC in a .38 Special case. To use 8.0 gr. of Unique with that weight bullet in a .38 Special would not at all be wise. I italics the error in the original post and offer to one and all this correction. Again, do not use the load I erroneously listed when I first made this post! Sincerely. brucev.
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Old 01-17-2012, 09:53 AM
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I didn't need any help in the Colt single Action department but Keith and Skelton made me "need" a 4" Model 24. Thanks to SS I got one new in 1983. If I had never read any Skelton stuff I'd have never picked up this 5" 27-2 fifteen years ago. Those Kuracs have the look of his Ropers, too. That was no accident.

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Old 01-17-2012, 10:30 AM
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I knew Skeeter slightly and read all of his material. One holster maker told me that he kept a bottle of whiskey on hand for his visits. Several of the older gun writers drank quite a bit. I've always wondered if the stroke that one suffered had to do with his intake. I saw him put Scotch in his tea at breakfast...

A very famous gun writer told me that one well known here probably died because he drank a barrel of whiskey a year and smoked like a chimney. He thought that had a lot to do with that man's throat cancer. Sobering thought...

I do retain many pleasant memories of Skeeter and his prose. He was one of the most practical gun writers, and unlike most now, he really gave useful info, instead of just hyping advertisers' products, although he did some of that, too. You don't get into most gun rags without doing that, and it has just gotten worse. But Skelton mostly plugged what he actually felt was good, and he told a lot about how to use guns and for what. His boyhood and law enforcement experiences were interesting, too.

I was impressed with some of his info, like how he blew a cylinder on a Colt 1917 .45 with handloads using 7.5 grains of Unique as then made. I think some load those guns too hot.

He told how to aim at a rattler so that the snake would align its head with the bullet. Never tried it, but it sounded like it might work.

Bill Jordan once said of Skeeter that if you pointed out something to shoot at, Skeeter would hit it for you. Considering Bill's own vast skill with guns, that was an impressive statement.

I think that Brian Pearce is our closest equivalent to Skeeter and to Elmer Keith. I hope to meet him someday. He's a modern link to a colorful gunwriting past, and he gives a lot of good info. They don't make many scribes like that now.

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Old 01-17-2012, 10:35 AM
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Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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....as I continue my exploration of the Turkey Track Outback, the lessons and joy from Skeeter ease my own passage through the decades.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:03 AM
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Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89 Charles &quot;Skeeter&quot; Skelton: died 17 Jan 89  
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Skeeter was my favorite gun writer, he had a style of writing that can not be found today.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:22 AM
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I have practically wore out the two books of his writings...literally. I was born about 2 months after he first started writing for ST in 1966, so I missed his early stuff unless it was reprinted but read his later stuff voraciously.
He is the reason for this gun, my own ode to Skeeter.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:25 AM
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I bought a nice Colt SAA .45 from Sally and Bart Skelton soon after Skeeter's death. I wish I had kept it.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:25 AM
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I'm surprised no one has linked this.

For that that have never read him (surely there must be somebody that hasn't) and those that miss him greatly.

Skeeter Skelton
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:41 AM
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TS, How did you come to befriend, and where did you have breakfast with the Famous gun writer?
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:44 AM
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Although I lived for quite a while in Skeeter's neck of the woods (southern NM and El Paso, TX), I never met the man. I did enjoy his writing, often based on his real-world experiences. His fictional "me and Joe" stuff was expertly written. He died in an El Paso hospital, so he was in my city when he passed.

Not long after he died, I had the honor of meeting his lovely wife at a gun show, where she was offering and autographing a number of Skeeter's books. She was a gracious lady, and I could see why Skeeter loved her.

One of the gun mags has been doing reprises of Skeeter's old columns in recent years. They have been timeless and fun to read all over again.

A good man, sorely missed.

John
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Old 01-17-2012, 12:20 PM
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I have often thought of writing to Skeeter and thanking or blaming him for my safe full of stuff he made me buy. I have a Gold Cup thanks to an article he did. I also have several nickel N frames because he had a really good looking M-29. There is also a High Power, several Security Sixes, a PPK/s, some Smith autos and the list goes on and on.

Skeeter, my mother and my dog all died within a month or so of each other. That was a really bad time for me.

BruceV, are you sure about 8 grains of Unique? I have never heard of that much Unique?
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Old 01-17-2012, 12:21 PM
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In "Skeeter Skelton On Handguns" there's an article about work guns where he writes of a New Mexico merchant who carried a Colt Bisley .38-40 as his only armament. The only use he saw the guy put the gun to, he wrote, was when he opened bottles of Budweiser with the hammer spur. Well, when I picked up this Bisley some months back I had to try it and it works great. But I won't do it again. I don't want to chance breaking that 112 year old hammer spur.



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Old 01-17-2012, 01:00 PM
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I literally grew up reading Skeeter. My Dad got most of the gun magazines that came out and I read all of them. Now that Dad is gone I have all of those magazines, and I still re-read them. I also have Good Friends, good Guns, and Good whiskey, Hoglegs, Hipshots and Jalapenos, I Remember Skeeter and the compilation of articles put out by Shooting Times in 1980. They are getting worn out from being constantly re-read.
Skeeter really got me interested in the .44 Special, and I have a few now because if that. Also the same thing for the M27, although I only have one (yet).


Just one point though, he died in 1988.


Jim
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Old 01-17-2012, 01:34 PM
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Liked his writtings very much.
If you can find this mag ..buy it.
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Old 01-17-2012, 01:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -rags- View Post
TS, How did you come to befriend, and where did you have breakfast with the Famous gun writer?
I met that famous gun writer at a function where he was the speaker, sponsored in Dallas by a man who ran a camera and gun store and was impressed with the writer. He spoke at the Fairmont Hotel and my then-wife and I talked with him for some time, and I assisted with taking photos. I wrote this up for, I think, both, "The Dallas Morning News" (where I once wrote a gun column for the Outdoors Editor) and for, "Gun Week", where I was a frequent contributor for several decades. I also gave a briefing to a TV reporter about this man and why he was worth a story, as the writer tried out a Mikkenger Arms .44 Magnum at the Elm Fork Winchester gun range. His host presented him with that gun, and it was an experience to see him shoot the .44 at 200 yards, although he was not young then. He was still a remarkable shot! (Mrs. Him was also present and seemed a very nice lady.)

I also knew him from NRA and SHOT show appearances, and the occasion where I saw him pour the whiskey into his cup of tea was at a Winchester press breakfast in San Antonio in 1979. I was sitting next to him, and he seemed to enjoy talking to me. He mentioned that he had acquired the idea of the Scotch in his tea from his white hunter in Africa.

He mentioned that he was coming down with a respiratory infection, and I suppose he may have thought that the whiskey would help. He later had to be hospitalized for that infection. I remember very clearly him telling me that it was heck to get old. True, but he led a heck of a life and remains a legend in his field.

There are only so many gun writers, and many of us have met at various press functions. I just happened to be talking with him that morning as we browsed the wonderful selection at the buffet and we wound up sitting together. I like tea, too, and probably recall the event partly because he drank that instead of coffee.

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Old 01-17-2012, 01:43 PM
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I was also a big fan. I read his articles over and over again. I can even look to my right at the bookshelf. Immediately above SCSW's (all 3 editions) I can clearly see Skeeters books (on the top shelf!)

I'm cheap at heart. Not just a little, really cheap. Back in my poor days, It was a major expenditure to invest 35 cents on an ST. So I didn't throw them away. I even remember when we had "Used Book Stores". When my wife wasn't watching me closely, or went shopping, I'd go across the river to the big ones. I new the Saturday clerk. He'd just laugh when I'd come in and head down the stairs (Acres of Books.) I'm pretty certain they didn't pay much for the periodicals they had. Selling price was fairly high and the sign even said "1/2 listed retail." But when you came back upstairs with 10 or more the price dropped. If you could find 50, you got another big price break. Gun books were on a table of their own.

I came from a background of making lists. My dad did it all the time. Maybe we have a genetic link to bad memory, I don't know. But I had a list, as in written on paper not a computer thing. It was just every edition I had at home. Any ST that I didn't have, I simply bought. It was a winter project. You can't imagine the riches when it would snow too much to go to work, and I had "nothing" to do but find a couch and read 10 or 12 of Skeeters I'd never seen before.

We built a new home 2 years ago. Not a single old magazine was damaged in the production. Yes, we have a wire roll around rack, probably over 6' high, 5 shelves on each (and you can use both sides.) Full of old magazines. Every AR from the end of WWII to recent. Some prewars, too. And then Gawd knows how many ST, F&S, SA, you name it. Oh, I left off my FILs collection of Shooters Bibles, merged with mine (when he was alive I didn't know he had so many). But I've bought more since, too. Also to my right as I sit are the Stogers (forerunner) shooters bibles from the 1930s. Maybe the Librarian who started this thread will understand.

And no one has made mention of K22 and Skeeter. He wrote many times of his quest for an early postwar Masterpiece. That and surviving on the GI bill and ramadan noodles to finance his K22. That was back in the day when folks saved up (foreign concept) to buy what they wanted and needed. No credit cards back then, just cash on the barrelhead.
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Old 01-17-2012, 03:35 PM
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Skeeter is the reason I like handguns so much. (and my Dad)

There are gun writers that are basically copy cat researchers and then there are even fewer writers that live the life and can put it to paper in a believable and entertaining story.Skeeter was the later.

If I had ever rubbed elbows with him I would have got a photo of him with me one way or another.

RIP Skeeter,
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Old 01-17-2012, 06:19 PM
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Skeeter was one of my favorites. His writing combined vast experience with a great deal more technical expertise than he would admit to combined with a sense of humor and an ability to laugh at himself. I always recall his line from his story "The Mama Mia Caper"-"Mighty hunter in magazine articles; dripping dud in wet forest."
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Old 01-17-2012, 06:38 PM
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I think tonight I will have a little snort of Henry Mckenna in rememberence of Skeeter. I too much enjoyed his writing and miss the many stories and even the fictional charactors.
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Old 01-17-2012, 09:05 PM
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Skeeter was one of the reasons I purchased the magazine. I always enjoyed his articles.
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Old 01-17-2012, 09:35 PM
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I have a 5 inch model 27-2, a model 28-2 converted to 44 special and a Ruger Flat Top in 44 special. I have a hundred or so old copies of Shooting Times magazine and every special edition about or by Skeeter that I could find. To say this writer/cowboy/lawman influenced me would be an understatement. I know all his favorite loads and own most, if not all of the bullet molds he used. The day he passed all handgunners were diminished. Rest in Peace old partner.
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Old 01-17-2012, 10:34 PM
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Shooting Times was the first magazine I ever had a subscription to.
Why would a 13 year old want that? Skeeter.

RIP Skeeter,
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Old 01-17-2012, 10:37 PM
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Skeeter certainly had a way of keeping your attention. It is very sad that he has left us. I can only imagine what jug and Dobe would be doing now. But i think Skeeter was just getting warmed up good when he had to take the long trail.

I miss him very much.
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Old 01-17-2012, 10:51 PM
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Skeeter Skelton.....

I could write all night on how Skeeter influenced my life. I have owned .32-20s, .44 Specials, New Service Colts, converted Blackhawks, and.....my mule, all because of him.

tennexplorer and I used to haunt the magazine racks around the campus at Auburn University, waiting for the new Shooting Times to hit the shelves. I bought a M27 just to convert it to .44 Special. It is now the revolver I have owned the longest (1976). Other .44 Specials followed, as finances allowed, including a 7 1/2" Colt New Frontier.

When S&W brought back the M24-3, I bought the first one to arrive in Birmingham, Alabama, a 4". I came real close to calling Skeeter and thanking him, but never worked up the courage, figuring he had better things to do with his time than talk to a young cop. I wish now I hadda picked up that phone.

I owned a .38-40 New Service, with a 7 1/2" barrel, because of one of his articles. I have posted many times on the .32-20 cartridge and the guns chambered for it. Yep, all because of Skeeter.

My first handgun, a Ruger Old Model Blackhawk .45, came about because of Elmer Keith, but the next .45 Colt, a M25-5, was Skeeter's fault.

I couldn't afford a 5" M27, but I did buy several M28s 'cause old Skeeter liked N frame .357s. My police academy gun was a 4" M19. Guess what; Skeeter, through his writings, said it was OK.

Skeeter liked the .32-20. I bought several and I like it too. Numerous revolvers and rifles in that caliber have graced my safe because the sage of Deming, New Mexico gave his approval.

Even long after his passing, Skeeter still affects my gun buying. I had another S&W, this one a M28, converted to .44 Special. Two converted Rugers are now in safe, in the better Skelton .44 Special caliber. I bought a NIB 8 3/8" M27 and then found a 5" barrel that got swapped out.

I believe it was the afore mentioned Mama Mia article that spoke of Skeeter lusting after a white riding mule. Yup, now I wanted a white mule. Never bought a white one, but I have purchased several of the long eared equines and now have my Internet name because of a certain former Border Patrolman and sheriff of Deaf Smith County.

I've rambled long enough on a subject dear to me. Several posters here have mentioned that they felt like they lost a friend when Skeeter died. I too felt the same loss. Not only was he a fine writer, he was a man with uncommon common sense that could touch his readers like we were all sharing the same campfire.

Skeeter may be gone, but he will not be forgotten.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:05 PM
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Skeeter is one of my favorite writers. He was an Icon for sure.

One of the greatest, IMHO. Along with Elmer Keith, Jeff Cooper, and a few others.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:35 PM
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I would have had a higher GPA at college if it weren't for him, but not as good a time. Probably one of two main reasons I got so deep into revolvers and S&W's especially. The other being MuleyGil. Was in Deming, NM in 1979. Missed him by 10 minutes at MMC. They gave me a description of his truck and where they thought he had gone. I wandered all over town looking for him - never found him.
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Old 01-17-2012, 11:45 PM
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"I would have had a higher GPA at college if it weren't for him, but not as good a time. Probably one of two main reasons I got so deep into revolvers and S&W's especially. The other being Muley Gil."

ME!!!! You're blaming me! YOU were the supposedly older, wiser junior when I was but a lowly freshman.

The next thing you know, you'll be blaming me for your .44 Speciall addiction! Oh, that's right; you did that here on the Forum in an earlier post.

BTW, I corrected your spelling of my user name.
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Old 01-18-2012, 12:20 AM
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Back when, in the late 60's early 70's when people who were serious about handguns and hunting with them were as hard to find as an honest politician, Shooting Times and Skeeter's articles were like a lamp in a dark room. Bought a lot of the same guns you guys did, and loaded up Skeeter's favorite loads, they have always done the job!
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Old 01-18-2012, 12:43 AM
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It'[s been pointed out to me that Skelton in fact died on 17 Jan _1988_. Drat! How time flies.
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Old 01-18-2012, 01:27 AM
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Skeeter was one of the first gun writers I read, starting back in about '77. Him, Elmer, and Col. Cooper. All three had credibility, and just exuded honesty. I miss all three, there are few gun rags out there I'll even buy any more.
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Old 01-18-2012, 01:59 AM
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My B-Day is January 17 and I am sad to hear that it was Skeeter's last day. I had forgotten the date.

Because of Skeeter I am a handgunner and because of Skeeter I quit reading Shooting Times. When he left I did to as a reader.

When Mike Venturino appeared at ST I began to read the magazine from time to time but never re-subscribed. When he left I left it for good.

I have often thought I "needed" a Ruger Flat-Top in .357 and .44 Magnum because of Skeeter. I have most all of the other handguns he used or wrote about.

I have copy of the magazine the XFuzz displays and his first book "Good Friends, Good Guns, and Good Whiskey". The stories still draw the same interest for me that they did back in the 1970s and 1980s. A great time machine.
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Old 01-18-2012, 11:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by max View Post

BruceV, are you sure about 8 grains of Unique? I have never heard of that much Unique?
I believe he is confused.

In this article - My Friend, The 357, he lists loads, and in the "heavy load" section we find a 158 LSWC over 8.0 of Unique. If he gets 1400 in 357 brass with that, I surely can't see anyone shooting it in a 38 and having a hand afterward.
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Old 01-18-2012, 12:41 PM
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He was quite the storyteller. I too learned a lot and got a lot of enjoyment from reading his various articles. One of the saddest things of growing older is losing those influential characters in one's life that helped make us what we eventually turned out to be. It does not seem like he has been gone that long...
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Old 01-18-2012, 03:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silentflyer View Post
, and loaded up Skeeter's favorite loads, they have always done the job!
Oh yeah? How'd those cow killer loads work out for you?
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Old 01-18-2012, 08:00 PM
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My first mag subscription was at age 10 in 1977 to Shooting Times. It was to read Skeeter. My brother and Dad would tease me because I was constantly quoting him. Then they started reading him too. I have a mess of .44 Specials now, a couple of 5" M 27s and a few others he enjoyed and find the same enjoyment. Still have most of my Shooting Times issues from all those years ago. He definately put his brand on a lot of people.
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Old 01-18-2012, 09:41 PM
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Please be patient with me here. I can't concentrate for long anymore. So this afternoon I headed down into the dungeon, aka the basement. There are still dozens of boxes of stuff that hasn't been unpacked in the year and a half since we moved in. So I started looking at magazines my wife has piled up. She's helping me when she comes up with one.

So the first one I get is Guns, from 1962, then a few more from the same general period. This isn't going well. Then a Guns and Ammo from about the same period. So I got sidetracked. Moved across the basement to another box of stuff, and immediately found two red outline American Rifleman mags. One from '35 and another from '41. I didn't find what I was looking for.

I can't find one with the guy's name that started with a "Z". He wrote humor back in the 1980s, had the inside of the back cover. He was pretty sick in the mind, which is why I liked his writing so much.

And I want to find the Jeff Cooper article on how to avoid being a crime victim.

Not much to go on, I know. But then it'll be nasty outside tomorrow, so maybe I'll change tactics. A chair and better light would surely help.
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Old 01-18-2012, 09:53 PM
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Add to the list of admirers of Mr. Skelton. He could tell a story and it was as though you were at his side.

The "Me and Joe" series are among my favorites.
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Old 01-18-2012, 11:06 PM
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Reading Skeeter's stories was like listening to a friend that you wanted to hang out with. In contrast, reading Cooper was like listening to a sermon. You knew it was good for you, but it kind of grated. Reading Keith was like listening to the neighborhood blowhard but with the knowledge that he could do what he said. Reading Jordan was like listening to a favorite, somewhat goofy uncle, who was absolutely fascinating.

Just my thoughts.

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Old 01-18-2012, 11:37 PM
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Every so often I pull out one of his books, sit down and relax reading some of the best and most entertaining gun writing I ever encountered. His nonfiction articles were always good and his fiction tales (based on real people he knew?) were a delight. I really miss him, my reading of gun mags declined after his passing and I really can't find anything worth buying the gun rags for now....the writers around now just don't have it, too many of them are inflated blowhards I would have to be paid to read (if I could stand to)!
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Old 01-18-2012, 11:55 PM
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I cried the day Skeeter died.





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Old 01-19-2012, 12:25 AM
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When I heard that Skeeter had passed away I sent his family a card.

He taught me a lot about shooting but he also passed along some useful information about being a lawman. I worked a one-deputy car in the back country; no shotgun (at least that the captain knew about) and very spotty radio reception. But I had Skeeter with me so it was all good.

One of the reasons that I like this forum is because you all know who Skeeter Skelton was. And Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith…

Rest in Peace Skeet.
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